Washington (CNN) - The government says that the country's unemployment rate remained at 10 percent in December. But the report, released by the Labor Department Friday morning, also says that employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, more than analysts had expected.

Minutes after the release of the report, the Republican National Committee reacted:

"More than 2.8 million Americans have lost their jobs since the stimulus passed, and the national unemployment rate remains at 10 percent. The American economy is a powerful and amazingly resilient system that will always naturally return to balance because of the determination and unique ingenuity of the American worker. But President Obama's singular focus on enacting his government-run liberal policies are single handily preventing this return," said RNC Chairman Michael Steele in a statement. "It's time for President Obama to heed the recent words of Democrat Senator Ben Nelson and finally do what he should have been doing over the past year – put his full and undivided attention on fixing our economy."

President Barack Obama's expected to discuss the economy and jobs at an event at the White House Friday afternoon.

The October rate of 10.2 percent was the highest in the United States since 1983.

soundoff(82 Responses)

Come on Mr. President..... I thought you were going to focus on this? That's why you got my vote....

Nobody wants a public option.... the health care bill is quite possilbly the worst thing to come out of congress since freedom fries....

Can I have my vote back?

January 8, 2010 09:15 am at 9:15 am |

nolapearl

The Republican leadership caused this mess. They should just keep their pieholes shut.

January 8, 2010 09:20 am at 9:20 am |

Anti-Socialist

It is depressing that over the course of the past year unemployment has gotten this bad, but if barely any jobs have been created then where did the money go? We hear about money going into the Obama Loan to help 9 million people stay in their homes and that doesn't even come close to happening. We hear about all this money being pumped into the ecomony for new jobs, but that doesn't come close to happening. So where is the money? Taxpayers have to pay back this huge unbelievable deficit so shouldn't we have the right to know where the money is? SHOW ME THE MONEY OBAMA YOU CROOK!

January 8, 2010 09:21 am at 9:21 am |

gt

its one and done ,, if we dont get people working again for obama...

January 8, 2010 09:28 am at 9:28 am |

Tate

How is the Dope and change working for you. This idiot obama worked on spending all of last year kind of forgot that the more you spend the more you tax the more lay off will occur. If a child was not running things we would be in much better shape now we are worst off and in debt we may never pay off. Great job hippys you do a good job of running the country!

January 8, 2010 09:31 am at 9:31 am |

Dana

The RNC says that Pres. Obama should "put his full and undivided attention on fixing our economy." Meanwhile the republicans omplain that Pres. Obama is not paying attention to…..(enter any current event).

January 8, 2010 09:31 am at 9:31 am |

Dignity Restored

Memo to all memory-handicapped Repubs: It was YOUR president that came up with the stimulus. Stop trying to hang it on Obama.

Also, could Steele let me know where he bought his crystal ball that allows him to state the "government-run liberal policies" are preventing the economy from recovering? You know, the economy that the Repubs wrecked, that they now claim they can fix.

January 8, 2010 09:31 am at 9:31 am |

John

Don't you just love it when the Republicans who started this mess just seem not to take responsibility for their screw up. They had the opportunity to do good things for this country but they failed with their greed and lack of attention to the Middle Class.

Of course they want another chance so the rich can get richer and the middle class gets the LO's. The Fox wants another chance to get back into the hen house and wreck more havoc.

They still think they are in power. Bone Heads!

January 8, 2010 09:32 am at 9:32 am |

Mr Right

It should be obvious by now that it is not this administrations intent to bring the country back to its inherent greatness but to create a new country that is run by and for the centralized government, controlled by the elite politicians, accompliced by mass media misleading the public and academia sculpting the next generation to blindly follow.
The first step is to subjugate the masses and make them dependant on big government.
The proof is evident and right there for anyone who will open their eyes.

January 8, 2010 09:34 am at 9:34 am |

Marshall

Thought it was to stay below 8%?

January 8, 2010 09:34 am at 9:34 am |

Donkey Party

Where are all the IDEAS Right-wingers? You are trying to return to office by saying your policy would be to do nothing? We got it. Americans voted for action, not inaction. Why does the Right-wing hate America so much that it openly rejects the idea of actually doing something for the people? When will the Right-winger voters see that the reason they hate government so much, is because their party has never done anything for them? Conservatism is a greater threat to our nation than any terrorist organization.

January 8, 2010 09:35 am at 9:35 am |

All the news that is fit to omit

Liberals and facts don't get along too well.

The Republicans need to stop "hatin" on Obama, it's not his fault.

"If you pass this stimulus bill, the unemployment rate will NOT go above 8 percent and it will create 3 million jobs".

Actually loser in chief we have LOST almost 3 million jobs since your "great" bill.

Is this like the "I will have the healthcare debates on C-SPAN and all will be invited to the table and we will no longer do business in smoky backrooms", LIE?

Or the "Nobody making less than 250,000 will see their taxes raised one cent" LIE?

Ya, the "system is working".

One and done, expperiment brutally failed.

January 8, 2010 09:36 am at 9:36 am |

Redneck

"It's time for President Obama to heed the recent words of Democrat Senator Ben Nelson and finally do what he should have been doing over the past year – put his full and undivided attention on fixing our economy."
And ignore national security among other things? Once again, the GOP plan is.... How many Americans lose their jobs to the free-trade policies the GOP loves so much that sends jobs overseas? Why should Wal-Mart pay an American worker a living wage when their products can be made in Chinese sweatshops by workers who do not make enough to sustain themselves? Look in the mirror GOP.

January 8, 2010 09:38 am at 9:38 am |

SLM

Obama will spin this as some sort of victory.......truth is, this economy should have and would have been well on the way to recovery if Obama was NOT president. Obama is clueless, you don't spend and tax your way out of a recession.....Let's tax the crap out of small business and expect them to grow and hire. Community organizers do not understand basic business.

January 8, 2010 09:39 am at 9:39 am |

bcords

nice try steele, but the american people still remember that bush gave us this situation. i dont want to imagine what it would have been like if we hadnt had the stimulus. some things are going to work and some arent but at least we should try instead of standing back and letting everything go in the toilet like the republicnas did for 8 years under bush and the war criminal cheney. all the republicans want to do is sit back and criticize instead of trying to work to fix things. if i hear one more time that we need to slow things down i will scream. if u cant do more than one thing at a time get the hell out of the way and let the dems bring the country back like they did after the great depression

January 8, 2010 09:40 am at 9:40 am |

Donkey Party

Think of how many jobs would've been lost without the stimulus. Think of how many more jobs there could've been if the GOP governors accepted and used the money properly instead of rejecting it or using it for personal pet projects. The Right-wing will be the cause of failure in America. It's what they want, it's what they preach in their "purity" tests, it's in the way they've proven time and again that they are only interested in the power of office, and not in shaping policies. Hell will be a very congested destination when all these hypocritical Right-wingers are burning there for eternity.

January 8, 2010 09:43 am at 9:43 am |

southerncousin

The Obama excuse makers were predicting the end of job loss would be in this report. How is that stimulus looking now libertards? Obama has lied so much. He is a weak, inept buffoon. Al Queda has got to be rolling on the floor laughing after his terrorism, oh excuse me, man made catastrophe speech yesterday. You idiots intalled a totally corrupt and incompetent fool as our president.

January 8, 2010 09:44 am at 9:44 am |

JT the Show Me State College Freshman

I know that history also said that the unemployment remained above 10% for over 2 years when President Reagan was in power, and he still got re-elected by a landslide. So history is not on their side on this issue, since President Reagan had the same problem; besides, what President Obama had to deal with, was much worse than what President Reagan had to deal with, and President Obama has managed to improve a worse economy in a shorter amount of time than what President Reagan had to deal with. If we are to truely get out of this though, we have to pull together, and stop fighting among one another. I was not being partisan, I was just reporting the facts at hand. We have to pull together as one American people to get out of this completely; President Obama cannot do this alone. He needs all of our cooperation now.

January 8, 2010 09:46 am at 9:46 am |

Jack Fl

It will take time to recover from the 8 years of economic policies by the GOP

January 8, 2010 09:48 am at 9:48 am |

EL

still you a token ,please shut up, you have no clue , even your own party thinks you are stupid.!!! and so do I.

January 8, 2010 09:48 am at 9:48 am |

Dutch/Bad Newz, VA

Not to mention there were actual job gains in the month of December.

January 8, 2010 09:49 am at 9:49 am |

But the President promised 5 million jobs

"During the first year of my administration, I will create 5 million new jobs" Presidential Candidate Barack Obama October 2008

January 8, 2010 09:53 am at 9:53 am |

Matt from the Unemployment Line

" Change you can believe in " - Patooey.

January 8, 2010 09:54 am at 9:54 am |

Worker2010

What are the Republicans doing besides attacking the President. They are receiving a paycheck twice a month; and they are not doing anything but just running their mouths. It is time that they get to work.

Citizens of the United States, I hope you realized that they have collected a paycheck for about a year now; and they didn't do any work to have earned it. We should make them pay us back and give their checks to the unemployed worker that was without a job for about a year.

The way I see it, we are the one that is working. I wish I had that privilege just to sit back and collect my paycheck and attack my boss about what he is doing and not doing.